Free Republic

The villages and farming communities that surround Uganda's capital, Kampala, are gripped by fear. School children are closely watched by teachers and parents as they make their way home from school. In playgrounds and on the roadside are posters warning of the danger of abduction by witch doctors for the purpose of child sacrifice. The ritual, which some believe brings wealth and good health, was almost unheard of in the country until around three years ago, but it has re-emerged, seemingly alongside a boom in the country's economy. Stephen's decapitated body was found in a field. The mutilated bodies of...

FEARS were mounting last night for the safety of six British aid workers taken hostage aboard a ship chartered to ferry supplies to Gaza. The captain of their hired ship went berserk in a row over money and fled the Libyan port of Derna with ten campaigners on board. The group were stranded on the Strofades IV ferry after it tore away from its moorings without permission. Witnesses told how one of the "Road To Hope Convoy" campaign vans was hanging out the ship's rear doors. The Greek captain was seen leaping on to a speedboat to another vessel. Last...

Around 30,000 Dutch households are to receive marijuana-scented scratch cards in a bid to uncover illegal urban cannabis plantations. Authorities in Rotterdam and The Hague say they are distributing the cards to help people recognise what cannabis smells like. The cards also include a number to call to report suspected marijuana-growing. Dutch authorities turn a blind eye to citizens growing up to five marijuana plants for personal use.

Fertilizing the oceans with iron to absorb carbon dioxide could increase concentrations of a chemical that can kill marine mammals, a study has found. Nevertheless, one company - Climos - aims to deploy the technique on a commercial basis over perhaps 40,000 sq km of ocean, drawing money from the carbon market.